Search Results for: nasa

NASA’s WISE Spacecraft surfaces most lustrous Galaxy in Universe: Space Evolution

Pooja Kashyap

NASA’s WISE has surfaced a far-flung galaxy, which is supposed to be shining intensely with infrared light with an intensity of nearly 300 trillion suns. The extremely luminous infrared galaxy (ELIRGs) is one of the most luminous galaxies to be discovered till date. Space evolution Chao-Wei Tsai at NASA’s JPL claimed that they have been witnessing an enormous stage of evolution taking place across galaxy. They are assuming that the source of the intense light could be from the growing spout of the galaxy’s black hole. According to Professor Andrew…

10 Photographs of NASA’s Abandoned Launch Sites: Space Program’s Forgotten History

Pooja Kashyap

Mr. Miller a passionate photographer journeyed across the US for a project, which required capturing stills from the abandoned NASA sites. He explored nearly 16 space launch sites including research facilities in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Utah, New Mexico, and California. We are indebted to Mr. Miller’s effort because of which we were able to see the photographs of various space program’s forgotten history. Many of these sites have been demolished or repurposed especially the facilities at Cape Canaveral. Since the sites are still under the jurisdiction…

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

Pooja Kashyap

Advanced mathematics coupled with severe mental illness, this is what the book, A Beautiful Mind is about. Sylvia Nasar professor of journalism at Columbia University, has done full justice in surfacing Nash’s life, his youth, college life, his work before and after he earned his doctorate and finally to his breakdown then illness and eventually his recovery. A Beautiful Mind juxtaposes sadness and the will to succeed despondency and depression.

Super Ball Bot: NASA’s Latest Space Rover

Neha Shukla

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) keep coming up with new era robots that can be sent to space for exploration. There are certain limitations in each design such as time taking research, clumsy motions and prone to damage. Therefore, NASA is trying to design a bot that can transform the traditional way robots perform work assigned to them here on our planet or in the space. They are aiming to build a Super Ball Bot, which looks more like a motor fitted in between a mesh of rods…

Growing Plants on Moon: NASA’s Next Big Project By 2015

Neha Shukla

Researchers and scientists are always curious to find life on other planets and tries to find whether other planets could ever sustain life. NASA is trying to find an answer to one such question and is planning to grow plants on moon, with the assistance of a robot, few cameras and thousands of schoolchildren. In 2015, a group of NASA scientist named as The Lunar Plant Growth Habitat Team, along with volunteers, contractors and students will be trying to bring life on other planet, which has been never attempted so…

Active Mantle Plume on Mars: Martian Geodynamic Evolution

Pooja Kashyap

Cumulative evidence, so far has suggested that Mars once had oceans but then lost its atmosphere and eventually died out. Unlike Earth, where shifting tectonic plates make way for dynamic interior, Mars never surfaced such processes. Hence, the astronomers concluded that nothing much happened on the red planet, at least, in the last 3 to 4 billion years. Recent observations by the scientists at the University of Arizona, however has challenged the current views of Martian geodynamic evolution. As per them, the red planet, that seems to be dead, has an…

Moon Soil Can Grow Terrestrial Plants: Tiny Lunar Garden

Pooja Kashyap

For the first time in human history, space scientists were able to grow plants in the soil from the moon. With the plants sprouting from the moon soil, lunar exploration seems pretty incredible. University of Florida researchers were able to prove that moon soil – also called as lunar regolith – can grow terrestrial plants. They also investigated that for the plant it wasn’t an easy journey. Nevertheless, this effort is the first step towards understanding how plants respond biologically to the Moon’s soil. This insight will surely help NASA’s…

Two Rocky Worlds Orbiting M Dwarf Star: The HD 260655 System

Pooja Kashyap

Astronomers at NASA have identified two rocky alien worlds hovering around M dwarf star called HD 260655. M stars have faint glow and they look red to our eyes with temperature ranging from 2,500 Kelvin to 3,500 Kelvin. These stars account for nearly 75% of the stars in our stellar neighborhood, which implies they can be easily observed from Earth due to its abundance. As per Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the newly discovered exoplanets are about two times more massive than the Earth.

Huge Gas Planet Hidden in Plain Sight: TOI-2180 b

Pooja Kashyap

Hunt for a new stellar body is always on. Space is full of astronomical bodies and star gazers continuously search for new stars and planets into the known realm of humanity. In one such effort, an astronomer at University of California, Riverside in collaboration with a group of citizen scientists have spot a huge gas planet. The newly discovered body is otherwise hidden from view by typical stargazing tools.

Venus could be a Life-bearing Planet: Space Exploration

Pooja Kashyap

Space scientists have always looked up to our closest planet neighbour and wondered what if there is life on Venus. Sanjay Limaye, from University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science also an expert on Venus says that in the coming decade in a collective effort, astronomers all across the globe will make case for exploring the “evening star”. With an experience of over 45 years, Limaye’s core investigation is the planet’s dense atmosphere.

Biofuel to Produce Locally on Mars: Martian Exploration

Pooja Kashyap

What if we are able to produce fuel directly on Mars? Explorers would then be able to stay on the red planet a li’l longer and return journey will then be easier relatively.   Shipping the propellant and oxygen for a return journey from Mars would cost billions of dollars. To make things easier, researchers have developed a concept for local rocket fuel production with algae and E.coli.

Interview: Dr Benjamin Pope, an Astrophysicist at The University of Queensland, Brisbane

Pooja Kashyap

Dr Benjamin Pope is a physicist and data scientist at The University of Queensland, Brisbane. He is working to find planets around other stars using NASA space telescopes. With the help of leading-edge machine-learning algorithms, he is trying to dig up tiny signals out of the noise to expand our knowledge of the universe.